Will the church saints raptured prior to the Tribulation be able to view events on Earth during the Tribulation?
There is some mystery regarding what those who have died know about events on earth after their departure, including during Tribulation. The only answer to solving that mystery is found in Revelation 6:
Rev. 6:9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;
Rev. 6:10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Rev. 6:11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.
This scene from the book of Revelation takes place in the future, during the time of Tribulation on earth. In the first half of this seven-year period, many believers will be martyred for their faith as a result of the rise of the antichrist. In v.9, John describes seeing under the altar the souls of those killed on earth because of their testimony of Jesus Christ.
Notice these souls are conscious and aware of how they arrived in Heaven (i.e., as a result of persecution). In v.10, they ask the Lord how long the Lord will delay in avenging their death, which tells us they also retain memories of their experiences on earth. Since they know the Lord has not yet avenged their death, they must be aware that the Tribulation is still underway and that the Lord had not yet brought an end to the antichrist’s reign of terror on earth.
On the other hand, there is no indication that these souls are viewing life on earth or have an awareness of specific events. On the contrary, they seem to exist in a completely different and separate realm apart from the earth and without the possibility of seeing the earth. In the same way that a human being alive today can't see events happening on the other side of our planet (without an electronic medium like TV or the internet), similarly a soul in Heaven cannot see the events of the earth unless God reveals it.
Therefore, we conclude from the information available in scripture that those who have died and entered the throne room of God are not capable of viewing events on earth, whether now or in the Tribulation. More than likely, they are not the least bit interested either, since we presume that the Heavenly world is far more interesting and captivating (1Cor 2:9).
